Investigating the Utilisation of Plastic Bottle as Aggregate Replacement for Concrete Block

Abstract

Concrete block plays an important role in the construction industry. Concrete blocks have been used in the making of various buildings, retaining wall and others. In this modern era, various technologies have been presented and invented in order to upgrade the life quality of mankind. Unfortunately, there are some technologies that bring bad consequences to the environment. For instance, the production of cement will contribute to a high emission of bad gases such as carbon dioxide that may be harmful to human's health. The manufacturing of cement is also emits hazardous fumes and dust that potentially can reduce the quality of air and lead to many respiratory problems. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to search for a new alternative way to cope with this environmental problem. Plastic bottles such as Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used as the main component in construction of concrete blocks. After curing the blocks for 28 days, compression test and flexural test were prepared to test the ultimate strength of these concrete blocks. From both tests, it shows that bottle blocks were qualified to replace concrete blocks in walls as the maximum stress achieved by bottle blocks were higher than the minimum permissible compressive strength and flexural value. From these results, it can be concluded that plastic bottle has a potential to replace the current concrete blocks and further study about its other properties, such as lifespan and water cement ratio should be carried out.